Page 32 of Survival

Jet winced but then nodded. “You’re right. I promised. Your game’s more important, and I’m sure my dad will have my car running again in no time.”

I breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back against the truck beside Jet. We looked around the bonfire as we drank, the crowd now littered with people from all over the Ridge, and I watched several of my friends flirting with the buffet of girls, trying to get lucky. A year ago, that still would have been me.

If any of them had a shot tonight, I’d say it would be Noah. He’d been talking to Trisha for a few weeks now.Wearing her downas he’d put it. Not that Trisha was hard to get, but Noah liked to play the boyfriend game. Make them think they were special and then cut them loose.

Someone had their music blaring further down, and Casey and Dinah were in the thick of the crowd starting to dance. Exactly where Izzy would be if she was here.

Nic was resting against a long piece of driftwood off to the side, frowning and slowly working on a cup of beer as he talked to Mateo, who was eyeing Emma from across the party like a sick puppy. Fuck, did it suck for my friends. Someone in this crowd was a snitch, though, because every time they got together, her dad somehow knew.

She glanced over her cup at him for a moment, their eyes meeting, and then looked away, grinning as she watched Annie tell an animated story with her hands. She was part of the main crowd, people around her laughingand eating up her words while she ate up the attention. But her brow furrowed when she glanced our way.

“Hey, Jet!” A girl I didn’t recognize waved as she headed over. I looked at my friend as he waved back.

“Hey!”

Corey and Kyle shot me confused looks, a girl on each of their laps, but I just raised my brow with a slight shake of my head. I had no clue.

The girl came up and wrapped her arms around Jet in a hug, and he gave her a light squeeze before pulling back. “Guys, this is Ruby. The new girl at the shop I’ve been training. Ruby, the guys.”

“Hey. You must be Tucker.” Her eyes raked up my body.

“Yeah.” I nodded, hiding my surprise.

“Corey.”

“Kyle.”

The guys held up a hand from their place on the tailgate, and Ruby smiled, looking around at us before focusing on Jet. “I can’t believe I ran into you. Well, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised since this is your neck of the woods. Parties like this aren’t usually my scene, but when they canceled thethingtonight, I just wanted to get out. Were you planning on going?”

“My car’s out of commission right now, but I’ll make it to one soon.” Jet took another swig of his beer.

“Make it to what, soon?” Kyle asked.

Jet winced as I shot him a look, and Ruby’s eyes widened. “Nothing important. Hey, is Annie here? I’m surprised not to see y’all together.”

My eyes narrowed slightly, picking up on something in her tone. “Over there.” I motioned with my beer to where Annie was eyeing us from across the crowd. “She and Jetusually end up glued to each other after doing the social thing.” I made sure the hint was clear, and Jet gave me a funny look.

Ruby just nodded, her smile never slipping. “Cool. Y’all know where I can grab a beer?”

“It’s set up on my tailgate,” Corey cut in. “The navy blue truck over there where the line is.”

“Gotcha. I’m gonna go grab one. Great meeting y’all.” She beamed with a wave before walking off, and I instantly fixed a look on my friend.

Jet paused with his beer halfway to his mouth. “What?”

“That girl’s trouble.”

He rolled his eyes at my warning. “No, she’s not. She’s just as obsessed with cars as I am and was excited to see me here. Don’t overthink it.”

I shook my head, exchanging a glance with the guys behind us. “I’m just saying. Be careful. I don’t think Annie even trusts her.” I motioned to where our friend was eyeing Ruby as she walked away.

Jet frowned but shrugged my warning off. “Maybe, but I still think you’re too paranoid. I’m telling you, Ruby’s just a friend that I work with. Annie and I are golden, anyway. Always have been.”

Kyle scoffed. “Yeah, no shit. That girl could go anywhere she wants for school, but she’s still taking your man card off toyourcollegewith her. I mean, fuck, you’ve never even looked at another girl, have you? At least, Tucker tested the waters before doing all that settling down shit.” Bitterness seeped through his tone, and I shot him a warning look, but Corey beat me to it.

“You’re just still pissed about Farah cheating on you last year.”

Anger flashed through Kyle’s eyes. “Fuck, yeah, I’m still pissed. Watch if I ever settle the fuck down again after that shit. Fucking tramp. Hope that’s not what you’re wanting, sweetheart.” He nibbled at the back of the girl’s neck that was in his lap, and she squirmed.

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